


would you believe in a love at first sight

by starkly



Series: Pepperony Week 2014 [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Pepperony Week, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 03:33:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1842802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony’s a single dad in desperate need of a good babysitter. Pepper’s a professional. Tony’s seen enough movies to know that this can only end poorly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	would you believe in a love at first sight

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Pepperony Week 2014](http://pepperonyweek.tumblr.com/), Day 6: AU. I've literally no excuse for this. There was a post on my dash like 'hot single dad falls for the babysitter au' and my friend was like 'do it.' So I did. Because I'm weak.

"I’ll probably be back around eleven. There’s money on the table for pizza or whatever," Tony says, and then has to stop from rolling his eyes at himself. Of course the esteemed Pepper Potts isn’t going to buy pizza for dinner. There’s a reason Tony’s paying the big bucks for a professional and not just hiring the teenage girl who lives down the street to babysit.

"Maria and I will be fine, Mr. Stark," Ms. Potts assures him, adjusting his bowtie with quick fingers and then handing him his phone (where did that even come from? He thought it was in his pocket. Potts really was a miracle worker). "You should leave before you miss your dinner."

"You hear that, baby girl? Back by eleven," Tony tells his three year-old daughter, who is ignoring him in favor of drawing in a Little Mermaid coloring book. Tony sighs and looks back up at Pepper. "Seriously, call me if you have any trouble."

Ms. Potts reassures him once more that everything will be fine and ushers him out the door, but Tony hasn’t been going through babysitters like cheap tissues for nothing. She may look cute, but everyone in the neighborhood knew what a terror little Maria Stark could be. Tony just hopes Pepper Potts will finally be the answer to his prayers.

He tries not to think about it through the award ceremony dinner for his company, but he finds himself constantly checking his phone throughout the night. Ms. Potts never calls, however, and neither do any police officers or emergency room nurses, so he supposes they must be all right.

Still, he fears for the worst as he pulls up to the house and walks inside, expecting to see some sort of terrible scene of carnage. Instead all he sees is Ms. Potts sitting on the living room couch with a book in her lap. There is zero destruction anywhere.

"Mr. Stark, welcome home," she greets him, closing her book and standing up, and Tony merely gapes at her for a moment. "Maria’s in bed already and there’s a few slices of pizza left in the kitchen if you want them."

A little stunned that she actually  _had_  ordered pizza, he asks slowly, “And Maria was good?”

"Oh, she’s certainly a handful, but she’s sweet," she says with a smile. "She wanted me to give this to you when you came home. Wouldn’t go to bed until I promised."

She laughs and hands him a sheet from Maria’s Little Mermaid coloring book; Ariel is colored a variety of inaccurate but creative colors while Eric is properly colored all inside the lines. “You can probably tell which one I did,” she adds, grinning.

Tony stares at her in amazement, then realizes he should probably say something. “Thanks, I — Would you be willing to come back? I don’t know how you did it, but I think you actually got her to like you, Mr. Potts.”

"I’d love to," she tells him, still smiling. "And please, just call me Pepper."

The next time Tony needs someone to keep watch over Maria, it’s actually a relief to be able to just pull Pepper’s card out of his desk and give her a call. They make sure her schedule works out and when she arrives at his house the following Saturday, Tony’s actually a little disappointed he has to go.

At least Maria seems happy to see Pepper again, and after he gives Maria a goodbye kiss and tells her to behave, she’s already tugging Pepper away to go show her something.

Tony doesn’t worry nearly as much as he did last time, though he does wonder if the first night was just a fluke and he’d return home to Pepper telling him never to call her ever again.

Thankfully, he returns home to find it pretty much the same way he had last time, with Maria in bed and Pepper on the couch with a book.

"I hope you don’t mind I used your kitchen," she says as he writes out her check for the evening. "Maria wanted the Monsters, Inc. macaroni for dinner."

"Oh, that’s fine," Tony assures her, smiling. "I’m just glad she actually cooperated enough to eat dinner."

"She’s not a bad kid, really. I think she just needs someone who…understands her."

Tony’s pen pauses over the signature line, and he glances up at Pepper, looks at her kind eyes and soft smile and no-nonsense hair, and wonders what sort of evil he did in a past life to fall for the only babysitter he’s ever had who can get Maria to eat dinner without throwing it around and go to bed on time.

Later that week, Maria looks up from her breakfast and asks Tony when he’ll go away again so Pepper can come back. He laughs and tells her to finish up or they’ll be late for daycare, though privately Tony kind of agrees.

They get the chance a few weeks later when Tony has another company dinner to attend to, and Maria practically runs to the door when Pepper arrives. Tony doesn’t worry at all as he gives Maria his customary goodbye kiss and thanks Pepper once again for coming to watch his kid.

This time when Tony comes back to find Pepper on the couch with her book, he doesn’t wait for her to speak.

"I really appreciate how much you’re helping around here, and I know this is kind of sudden, but — do you want to stick around as like, a full-time nanny or something?"

Pepper sighs and closes her book, standing up to talk on an even playing field with him. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s face falls, though he knows he really shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up. It’s not like she has any obligations to him or Maria, no matter how much the both of them liked her. “Oh. I understand, you’re probably really busy — “

“ _Because_ ,” she continues, interrupting him before he can keep babbling, “I’m about to ask you out to dinner, and I make it a point never to date my clients.”

"Date — like, date-date?" Tony repeats, confused.

"Is there any other kind of date?"

"I guess not," he says, still a little dazed. Then, realizing Pepper must be waiting for his answer, "Yes! Um, yes. I’d like that."

"Great. Here’s my personal number." She writes down a number on the back of a business card and hands it to him, and Tony just stares at it for a moment. "I’m free this Friday, if you’d like to have dinner."

"Yeah, that should be good," Tony answers, grinning now, but when he flips the card over and sees her work number, his smile vanishes. "Oh no, I’m going to have to find _another_  babysitter.”

Pepper smiles, placing her hand over his and lowering the card from his view. “Don’t worry about it. I know some people who will work perfectly.”


End file.
